Well
Known Boston Attorney Convicted in Money
Laundering Conspiracy --Robert George Concealed Nearly Quarter
Million in Drug Proceeds--

June
8 (Boston) - A Boston attorney
was convicted today by a jury in federal
court on seven counts connected to a money
laundering conspiracy. Robert A. George,
56, of Westwood, was convicted of conspiring
to launder money and money laundering.

From
early 2009 to 2011, George and a co-conspirator
conspired to conceal the illicit source of
more than $225,000 in drug proceeds. George
did this by introducing an individual who
was cooperating with the government to George’s
co-conspirator who converted purported drug
money into checks made payable to a fictitious
undercover company.

The
cooperating witness (CW) represented to George
and his co-conspirator, that he had large
amounts of cash from drug trafficking. On
two separate occasions, the co-conspirator
took the cash in exchange for a check that
he made payable to the fictitious undercover
company. For this service, the CW was charged
a substantial fee.

On
another occasion, George told the CW that
he would pay him a fee for bringing him clients.
George then took $25,000 in cash from an
undercover agent posing as a drug dealer
client and made two separate deposits of
that money, in amounts under $10,000 in order
to avoid a reporting requirement, into his
account at two different branches of his
bank. George then gave the CW a fee in the
form of a check made payable to a fictitious
undercover company, and wrote in the memo
line of the check that it was for “office
disposal.” In all of these transactions,
George helped conceal the fact that the cash
was what he understood to be proceeds of
illegal drug trafficking.

“DEA
has always pursued investigations wherever
they lead. In this case our investigation
led to a corrupt defense attorney. Attorney
George traded away his integrity and his
standing in the legal system and community
for a simple reason, his own greed,” said
Acting Special Agent in Charge of the DEA,
Kevin Lane.

“Prosecuting
money laundering is a priority of the Department
of Justice,” said U.S. Attorney Carmen
M Ortiz. “It is important that we investigate
and prosecute those who use the financial
system to conceal illegally obtained funds.
We will pursue these cases wherever they
lead us, even if it leads to attorneys, who
are not above the law.”

On
each of the money laundering charges George
faces up to 20 years in prison, to be followed
by three years of supervised release and
a fine of up to not more than $500,000 or
twice the value of the property involved
in the transaction.